Critical thinking has recently taken centre stage in a discussion on educational methodology specifically in the tertiary sector and particularly in such subjects as science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
A sector that is fundamentally connected in many important ways to critical analysis and analytical criticism is communication. On a basic level, the ability to think critically, reason through a problem and develop a strong argument or explanation is essential for all types of human interactions and learning.
Critical thinking has been the subject of much deliberation and thought since the time of early Greek philosophers such as Plato and Socrates and has continued to be debated into the modern age. The ability to recognise arguments built on exaggerated facts, untruths or fake news has lately seen amplified awareness in the social media era.
Another important link between communication and critical thinking is the ability to learn how to follow another person’s thought process and line of reasoning. An individual who is able to think critically about how another person is making an argument will enhance the formulation of a more effective response, more quickly, than someone who is not.
Critical thinking is aimed at achieving the best possible outcomes by gathering and evaluating information from as many different sources as possible. In most situations, critical thinking improves learning aided by the access to clever analysis.
Someone who is interested in a certain topic, for instance, and has the ability to think and form questions about what he or she still needs to learn, will likely take steps to expand this knowledge.
Critical thinking requires a strong, often uncomfortable, assessment of one’s personal strengths, weaknesses and preferences and their possible impact on decisions to be taken.
Critical thinking requires the development and use of foresight as far as this is possible. Implementing the decisions made arising from critical thinking must take into account an assessment of possible conclusions and ways of avoiding potentially negative outcomes, or, at least, lessening their impact. In other words, to be ready to accept consequences maturely.
While supporting a more critical approach in education, may I recall some experiences that throw light on Maltese educational institutions showing that, in the past, they had not been totally starved of elements of pragmatic methodology featuring critical thinking.
Critical thinking is the ability to think like scientists- Charles Xuereb
In the early 1980s, state primary schools had introduced media education – based on critical thinking – across the curriculum, an initiative which I am pleased to have led on a national level with the encouragement and approval of the then director general of education, Frederick Fearne.
Among other resources, the education department had then invested in promoting a media room in all primary schools equipped with the technology of the period. My unit, the Media Education & Broadcasting Centre, had launched a series of annual in-service courses for all primary teachers as well as exploration lectures for heads of school.
These kicked off with the academic input of Nottingham University’s promoter of critical thinking in the media, Len Masterman, with whom I had found common ground on the theme in various Council of Europe seminars across Europe.
An educational TV series, Mediamix, was the subject of a number of investigative dissertations by university student teachers. It later led to the establishment of a national educational TV channel, which, unfortunately, wound up its activity early in the new millennium. The TV channel, launched in 1996, had produced scores of series, some produced in collaboration with analogous networks overseas, which were, in turn, dubbed and broadcast in the respective countries.
Partly in reaction to the introduction of media pluralism, the 1990s saw the introduction of a set of academic and practical lectures themed around critical thinking and communication, which I was happy to deliver to students in the Faculty of Education. These were followed by similar lectures at the Institute of Travel, Tourism and Culture of the University of Malta, which I still enjoy delivering.
In total agreement with suggestions put forward by senior lecturer Mario Aquilina (December 13), I too believe that moving away from conditioning and the reproduction of knowledge is recommended. Intellectually thought-provoking and appealing methods help tomorrow’s citizens become better independent thinkers.
In conclusion, critical thinking is the ability to evaluate claims using psychological science, in other words, how to think like scientists. Scientific thinking is the ability to create, assess and appraise assertions, data and schemes. In a contemporary world of computerised knowledge and limitless virtual resources, the basic tenets of critical thinking should provide students with the tools to probe information.
When personal experiences and observations are often subjective and susceptible to error, students need to learn the specific skills to become logically literate, discerning and question established strategies, coherent misconceptions and prejudices during their education for life.
Charles Xuereb is a broadcaster and educator.